Fearlessly Frosted
by HannahJaneLee
Summary: Book 2 Guardians of Childhood Characters included. Pitch is growing stronger. The Winter Solstice approaches, the darkest day of the year. Jack and Katherine make the journey to Santoff Claussen to get the advise of Ombric the wizard, but disaster strikes. Will Jack be able to get her to safety without freezing her to death, or will they be lost in the Siberian Wilderness?
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

*Alone*

Deep within the darkness, a boy sat alone.

The boy glowed, his silvery hair beaming like moonlit wisps and curling at the ends. But his brilliant light was locked away, his condemned and broken body confined to an ancient cage hundreds of feet above the ground. The black of the iron bars contrasted in an eerily beautiful way with his natural glow, confining his light to the darkness. He wore traditional armor of the moon, a beautiful white. He held in his arms the remains of a tree branch staff, the spearhead long gone. He cradled the broken staff for a moment, his thin frame bent in uncomfortable pain and fatigue. Then suddenly, his body shook with a tremendous tremor, and his light flickered, leaving himself in darkness once again. Then, with a small grunt of effort, he began to glow once more. But not as brilliantly as before.

Even deeper within the darkness, a girl watched alone.

She had a long regal gown, a beautiful white. But the ends were tinted with the blacksand that surrounded her, and the olden day lace trim dirtied as well. Her hair, what once was a beautiful raven black, was now a shocking white, only a few black strands remaining. She clutched her necklace around her neck like a security blanket. She watched the world threw a blurry window, catching strange images and flashes of familiar faces around her. She gazed up at the lonely boy's cage with a strange look of longing, curiosity, and fear. She dared not fly anymore; the ground was where she belonged. And she dared not venture into the boy's light; she knew nothing good could come from the light. But after a long while of waiting her curiosity overcame her. She allowed herself to fly a few yards up from the ground, hovering as a harmless spectator. The boy fascinated her. She had a strange urge to set him free, he looked so familiar; his young face and skinny build reminded her of someone she had seen before. Then the spectral boy opened his eyes, his light green orbs resting on her frame. There seemed to be a glimmer in his eyes, like starlight tears. Then he surprised her. He raised his weary hand, reaching down to her.

She stood in the air, her emotions clashing in her mind and making it hard for her to think. Then, timidly and slowly, she floated up to him. She stretched her fingers out in front of her, fascinated and fearful of the boy like a moth to flame.

Much deeper within the darkness, a man reached out alone.

An ice-cold grip caught the girl's other hand, forgotten by her side. She froze, turning to face the hand's owner. She was met with a golden pair of eyes, bent in concern and sadness. The man was cloaked in darkness, standing on a large pile of nightmare sand. Suddenly she felt very embarrassed, and childlike. What was she doing?

She relaxed her body, letting the man softly pull her back to the ground. They touched the ground and he started walking her away from the light, away from the boy, as quickly as possible. She glanced behind her shoulder as they excited the cavern, looking back at the darkness's prisoner. The boy's hand was still outstretched to her, his sad eyes pleading in the darkness. His light was fading.

But what could she do about it anyway?

The man pulled her past his golden globe, and the glowing boy's glow suddenly disappeared as he lead her through his tunnels. The girl's eyes became droopy as he guided her through the halls, her head bobbing as she tried to stay awake. She slowed so much that the man just decided to pick her up, scooping her into his arms easily. Her gown dragged as he carried her through the halls, past empty and abandoned rooms. Then they entered yet another cavern room, a grand hall with a high ceiling, and a hint of roman architecture all around them. In the middle end of the room sat a tall chair, a throne of darkness. He laid the girl's unconscious body onto the seat, draping her arms on to armrest and her head on top of them, like a pillow.

He stroked a piece of white hair away from her face fondly. That encounter had been close, far too close. He couldn't loose her to the light, not now. Not when the plan was falling so perfectly into place.

He bent down to her level, examining her closely. Seeing her like this, asleep and venerable, reminded him of someone. Some child, some time long ago.

"I knew a girl like you once," The man said softly.

"But I cant remember her name."


	2. Chapter 2: Lovely Unknown

~Lovely Unknown~

The morning was cold and brisk. The smell of ozone was in the air, and the winds brought promises of a new coming storm. The ocean below was crazed, thrashing about in a foamy fight against the sea and sky. Jack wondered how the Baby Teeth were doing as they flew about in the storm, trying to collect the teeth. Baby Tooth had gone to join them just moments ago, sensing that she was needed somewhere in the higher regions of Europe. He hoped she wouldn't freeze in the storm, it was getting very harsh; hard conditions for flying. But Jack didn't have to worry about any of that right now, he wasn't flying under the storm clouds, he was overtop them. And right now there was nothing but the silence of the stars above, and the moon's light shining on the cloud's fluffy tops. It was peaceful, and Jack breathed a sigh of contentment. He had missed the sky in the hours in the North Pole, and was elated to be back in his element. But Katherine wasn't sharing his attitude on flying in the slightest.

She clung to Jack's back for her life, her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs around his waist. Even though she had flown hundreds of times on her goose, Kailash, she seemed to be uneasy with air travel on the back of a winter spirit. When Jack had pretended to be offended, she had defended herself by saying it was only because Kailash had control all the time, because she used her wings to fly (Although the creature's wings were not fit for flying, one being very injured from the fight the past night). Jack completely relied on the wind to carry him through the air. And the wind was being very unpredictable, indeed.

Jack wrote it off as the weather, but he had almost completely lost control a few times. They had once almost fallen below the clouds, and into the storm, but Jack had managed to drive a Southern breeze to come to their aid just in time. He tried to laugh it off, but Katherine's guard had been up ever since then.

"Calm down!" He laughed at her, but his voice was a hoarse croak; she was about to strangle him with her harsh grip. "Just think of it as a piggy back ride, thousands of feet up in the air!"

Katherine's eyes were wide as dinner plates, but she nodded and swallowed, whispering, "Just a piggy back ride…"

Jack chuckled and turned his attention back onto his flying, and Katherine let her head rest on Jacks shoulder. Jack wished he could just relax, he was starting to nod off. It was getting harder to concentrate on the currents; Jack had never flown this long before, especially with a person who completely depended on him instead of flying herself. It had been slow work, but they were nearing the mainland. They had flown all night, and into the early moments of morning. Katherine's grip on his neck began to slip and he wondered if she had fallen asleep.

Jack smiled. He had been wishing she would fall asleep; while he had been sleeping in his confinement room she had been busy planning their escape that night. And how wonderful it was to escape, and be free! Jack couldn't stand being in one place for too long, it drove him mad. And the fact that he couldn't stay still in one place too long drew other people mad. But now he was free, soaring above the clouds on a wonderful winter night. The moon was waxing and would be full in about a week or two. The sky was starting to lighten, and Jack knew that there would be a beautiful sunrise soon.

"Jack?" Katherine asked drowsily. "How much farther?"

Jack looked up, to the stars. He had learned to navigate them quite well, since he was constantly flying over the ocean and around the North and South Pole. "I'm pretty sure we're almost, if not already, in Russia. Where is this Sutoof Cloosen place you were rambling about?"

Katherine scoffed. "Its Santoff Clausen, Frost Face. It's on the east side of Russia."

Jack willed the winds to turn to the left, to the east. It was hard work; the winds didn't like to carry such heavy loads. But after a moment, Jack persuaded a breeze to carry them eastward. Katherine sighed and turned her head to the right, looking up at the stars. She had been unusually quiet that night. Jack could tell Nightlight was on her mind, and he was on his own mind as well. He hoped that Katherine had considered going into Pitch's caves to see the mural painting he had seen before, and then they could possibly sneak into the main room and try to save Nightlight. Jack had a feeling that Pitch wouldn't kill the boy; he was smarter than that. He had taken Emma, and if he had Nightlight as well, the two were good hostages. So there was hope for the spectral boy.

They glided across the sky for a while longer, and all was silent and still as they thought to themselves. A small smile was grew on Katherine's face as she held onto Jack, listening to the quiet of their breathing and their cloaks flapping behind them. The stars twinkled above, the moon smiled down at them, and the clouds below were as still as a meadow covered with fresh fallen snow. It all seemed so peaceful. But after so much commotion, and so much fighting, it seemed…. Wrong. Like something was amiss. Like they were being watched.

Suddenly the air around them started to flow more choppily, loosing its easy, flowing current. Jack held out his arms and tried to steady them, they had just fallen off course of the wind's path.

"Jack?" Katherine asked. "What's going on?"

Jack frowned. "Just a little… turbulence." He said with an airplane attendant voice. But it felt like a little more than just turbulence. His forehead was beading with sweat as he fought to find the wind current they had been riding before. But there was nothing. It was like suddenly all of the air around them had stopped, and there was nothing left for them to ride. To Jack it felt like the small strands of air that kept them airborne had been snipped, and he was left grabbing for the useless broken threads as they dangled by a string. This had never happened to him before. Then, suddenly, Jack felt a tremor go through the air, like a clap of silent thunder; the snipping of their last thread. Then before he had the chance to blink he heard screaming, and realized that the two of them were falling.

Jack and Katherine fell like rocks, plummeting down to the ground below. Katherine screamed at the top of her lungs, gripping onto Jack for her life. There was nothing around them but white, and Jack knew that they had fallen into the clouds. He tried to think of what to do, but it was hard to think with Katherine screaming in his ears. But after a moment he realized her voice was not only raised in terror; he was screaming as well.

"Jack!" Katherine yelled, repeating his name over and over, like he hadn't realized they were falling. But there was nothing Jack could do but scream as they shot through the skies, like a flightless bird.

It was colder below the clouds, and certainly less peaceful. Snowflakes swirled around them, biting their faces and getting stuck in their hair. The winds tossed them about violently, as if to rip them apart. He called out to the wind, begging it to help. But there was nothing but silence. He had lost all control of the air currents; it was almost like someone else had control of them.

It took Jack a moment to realize the pressure on his back was gone, that he didn't have Katherine's screams in his ears. He whirled around, searching for her. She was freefalling yards away from him, and much lower. The winds whipped her about as they were doing to Jack, but much less violently. She gazed up at Jack with a look of pure fear, her orange locks flying about like fire. Jack fought against the winds and dived down to her, grabbing her hand and they fell together, side by side. It was harder to be tossed about when you had a person beside you.

"What's going on?" She called out to him.

Jack stared around frightfully, forcefully laughing at their predicament. "I have no idea!"

Katherine seemed to take a few moments to calm herself after he said this, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. "How far are we from the ground?" She yelled shakily.

Through the blinding white of the snowstorm Jack squinted down to the ground. There was good news and bad news about what he saw. The good news? They had made it to Russia. The bad news? They had made it to Russia. And it was getting closer by the second. The tips of some scattered fir trees dotted the ground far in the distance and stretched as far as the eye could see, and below them was the harsh and treeless Tundra. There were feet of snow all over the ground, but not enough snow to cushion their fall.

"Um…" Jack said. "Not that far."

Katherine was muttering under her breath, and Jack heard the words, "Going to die," "Jack", "Egghead", and "Splat". She opened her eyes, but instead of looking at the ground she looked at Jack, her eyes desperate and fearful. But her face went white as she looked beyond his face, and into the clouds, and her body froze up.

"What?" Jack asked, looking all around. "What is it?"

"It-it cant be!" Katherine gasped. "It just cant be!"

Katherine's pupils were dilated, and her mouth wide open as she exclaimed, "It-it's her!"

Jack immediately assumed the worse, and knew that she was talking about Emma. Jack tried to respond but when he looked to his side he was so shocked he lost his voice. There was a person, a woman, no less than 30 feet away from them. And she was definitely not Emma.

She wore a beautiful long green dress that almost seemed to fade away into the clouds that surrounded her, as well as her long black hair. She seemed to be supported by the clouds, and was flying towards them with great speed. She had a lovely, long face, but Jack couldn't quite read her expression. Her eyes shone with determination, and yet Jack sensed fatigue in her body language. He was speechless. But it wasn't the fact that a woman was flying through the storm to either save or attack them that startled him. It was the fact that he had seen her face before; in the shadows of the treetops, in the swirling patterns of the snow, in the currents of the ocean waters. She watched over everything, listened to every confrontation as she hid the wildlife around her. Everything clicked into place as he whispered her name under his breath.

"Mother Nature."

The woman reached out her arms and Jack was enfolded into the woman's embrace, as well as Katherine. Jack was so in shock he just stared up at her in awe, his eyes wide.

"Hold on!" She yelled through the whistling winds. Jack and Katherine obeyed.

She turned to the ground and they flew with a speed not even Jack could muster on his good days. She controlled the winds with such ease, as if there was no effort in it at all. Jack and Katherine held onto her tightly, unbelieving that she was really here, right now, and that she had just saved their lives. She smelled like the first blossom of spring, and the bittersweet smell of rain on dry earth. She didn't look down at them; she appeared to be occupied enough flying though the storm.

In just a few moments she slowed, her grip slackened, and Katherine and Jack fell out of her arms and onto the snow covered ground. She landed gracefully in front of them, holding herself with a regal air, although she looked rather… fatigued. Her shoulders slumped ever so slightly. There were dark circles under her eyes. She looked frail, like she would blow away, and she was so pale Jack wondered if she was going to disappear into the snowstorm. The cold winds seemed to chill her to the bone, yet she didn't have the strength to stay warm and alive, and let the winds blow.

Her hair swirled about her face, which was emotionless as the winter landscape around them. Her eyes made Jack uneasy, she seemed so…. Mysterious. Bunny had warned him once that Mother Nature wasn't always a benevolent soul. She was very unpredictable, like the weather patterns. But she didn't look like she would dare attack in her weak state. Besides, she had just saved their lives. Jack felt like he owed the woman something, in return for their lives. He smiled at her weakly, trying to convey his thanks. But Katherine was as expressionless as a rock.

Katherine glared at her with a strange, steely look; almost like she was a little overfamiliar with the woman. And so for many seconds they stood there, in silence, while the snow fell around them.

Jack tried to break the silence by thanking her for saving them, but the words came out differently than he thought they would. "Aren't you…. Aren't you supposed to be in Bunny's warren?" He asked slowly.

Mother Nature looked over Jack with a rock hard gaze. Jack flustered to find the right words as he continued on. "Isn't it like, dangerous out here? For you?"

She paused for a moment, and the question hung in the air. She took a shaky breath and spoke.

"Yes." She said.

"Then why are you here, and not at the Warren?" Katherine asked, her voice calm and vacant, almost crisp with some kind of strange sense of hatred.

Mother Nature's mouth curled up in a sad smile. "I guess you could say, its because I had more… important matters to attend to."

Katherine looked stunned, and a little more angered. "But why?" She said. "Why risk your life out here in the cold, to save us? Especially when you have the weight of the world's balance on your shoulders?"

The woman looked down, almost like she was asking herself that question. When she looked back up she had a new kind of look in her eyes. Desperation? Sadness? Greif? Weakness? Jack didn't know. He wasn't good at reading emotions.

"Because," She said, "My time… it's nearly here."

Jack's heart stopped beating in his chest. Katherine's gaze seemed to soften at these words, and Mother Nature continued on.

"I'm too weak to keep my physical form intact, the world has fallen far too out of balance. The cold and dark have overcome the warmth and light, and there is nothing more I can do. The Prophecy has been set in motion. That is why I am here…. and that is why you are here."

She sighed. "I know your destination, children, and the path ahead is treacherous. You cannot travel by air anymore, its far too dangerous. The winds are almost uncontrollable. I am unable to help you on your way to find the prophecy, but with my last bit of energy I give you my blessing and send you on your way. That," She said sharply to Katherine (Who was looking rather sheepish), "Is why I am here.

"I offer you a gift, and a clue," She said. "To help you on your journey."

She lowered her hands, and within them sat a strange and curious object. She stepped forward and Jack and Katherine peered at the gift. It was a small glass sphere on a chain; a necklace. It looked old, and it was rusting. And inside of this glass chamber sat three small seeds, dandelion seeds.

"This necklace will lead you on your way," She said, placing the necklace over Katherine's head. "Each seed, when released, with guide you to a Guardian of Santoff Claussen. Or, if you are in danger, it can lead one to you."

Katherine held the necklace in her gloved hands, speechless. Then she looked up at the woman with an expression of awe, and all she could say was, "Thank you."

Mother Nature nodded in respect to the girl, and turned to Jack. "Keep her safe, Guardian of Fun," She said.

Jack smiled cheekily, trying to hide the embarrassment he was still feeling from falling from the sky and putting her in danger in the first place. "Don't worry," He said. "We wont be flying anymore. And besides, destroying NightMares is my specialty. We'll be perfectly safe"

Mother Nature looked puzzled for a moment, but decided not to speak more on the subject. Jack had a feeling she had meant to protect her from something else, and he feared that that he might have to learn what she had to say the hard way.

Mother Nature stepped back, her feet crunching in the snow. The light from her eyes was long gone, like she was becoming the empty shell of a person she had once been. Her composure slacked even worse, and Jack realized over the course of their conversation her dress had lost its beautiful shade of green, and now looked rather dry and dark, like a dead leaf. She had given all of her energy to save them, and to help them on their way. Her time was here, and her life was done. The snow seemed to be piling onto of her dress, almost as if the earth was claiming her weakened body. She noticed this as well, and her expression grew dark.

"Goodbye, children," She said, and the snow started to fall much more heavily, in so much that they could only see her face though the white. "I wish you the best luck on your way. Discover the prophecy, stop Pitch's plan. Set balance to the Earth, and save the children. You have until the darkest day of the year to set all this right, and it is looming nearer than any of us dare to think."

Then, before Katherine or Jack could ask her what she meant, she had disappeared in a flurry of snowflakes. Katherine stood, frozen, and Jack as well. Then, without another word, Katherine began to trudge east through the deep snow and towards the forestland, leaving Jack behind in a daze. Jack hollered and ran up to her, feeling shaken.

"Katherine, what does that mean?" Jack asked her, feeling a little hollow inside from the fearful news. "'The darkest day is looming… how far away is 'looming' exactly?"

Katherine swallowed. "The darkest day of the year is less than a week away." She said. "We have less than a week to discover this prophecy, and we only have one piece of information and its this stupid necklace, and then we have to make it back to the Pole in time to tell the others. We need to move fast." She seemed to be breathing a little faster than normal, and Jack could tell the news was making her feel overwhelmed. She stepped faster, her grey eyes determined and facing directly ahead.

"But what is the darkest day? When is it?" Jack asked.

Katherine stopped and looked up at him with a horrified expression. "December 21st, " She whispered.

"The Winter Solstice."

Jack seemed to freeze for a second. The winter solstice. They not only could not fly, but now they had a deadline.

"So... now what do we do?" Jack asked Katherine softly.

Katherine laughed. "We do what all great heroes do best. We trudge off into the lovely unknown."


	3. Chapter 3: Golden eyes and Ivory Fangs

~Golden Eyes and Ivory Fangs~

The beasts were huge, their lean muscles hiding under a thick coat of grey and black fur. Their eyes were like lanterns in the dark, and the moonlight bounced off their sharp, pointed teeth. They looked almost like Jack-o-lanterns, or as Jack would say, Wolf-o-lanterns. They growled low, occasionally barking as they circled around them, assessing their prey. And then one pounced, and the fight began.

Jack whacked the creature with his staff, which proved to be quite efficient against the wolves. He could fight the pack of wolves without getting too close. But Katherine had a short dagger, and Jack feared she wouldn't be able to protect herself very well. But when an angry wolf would jump in front of her Jack would leap to her aid and she wouldn't need it. She would jump with her dagger ferociously, slashing the beast in the snout. The creature would cry out and run away to nurse its bleeding nose. But no matter how much they fought, the wolves would just snarl and continue to bark at them, their teeth snapping at them any chance they could get close. And Jack swore the group just kept getting bigger, and even though they had wounded so many it didn't seem to deter them in the slightest.

Katherine suddenly fell to the ground as if she was in a dead faint. Jack was about to bend down to see if she was all right when a large wolf flew over her head. She hadn't fainted, she had simply ducked. She reached up her hand and as the snarling airborne creature went through the air and she grazed its underside with her dagger, and it howled and hit the snow hard. It limped away, whimpering loudly. For a moment Jack felt hopeful, they had gotten one down. But there were still so many to go, and how much longer could they fight? Their determination was fading, and he was starting to pant with effort. But the injury of the wolves' pack member seemed to drive them to avenge their friend more than cower away. They were angry now. Jack wondered how they could escape them. Could wolves climb trees? Could they possibly reach a tree, and climb fast enough?

While Jack was distracted by his thoughts of escape, a smaller wolf crept slowly and quietly to his leg, outside his line of vision. Then, suddenly, a horrible sting burned through his thigh and he cried out in surprised pain. He looked down and saw a wolf, its teeth deep in his thigh. The beast thrashed, trying to tear off a piece of his leg. Jack whacked it in the face with his staff, but it took a few swings to pry the beast's teeth off his leg.

He could feel the warmth of his blood trickle down his leg, and his brown pants quickly turned crimson. Katherine turned to him when she heard his pained cries and gasped at his wound.

"Don't worry," Jack said, grimacing slightly. "It's not too deep."

Katherine didn't seem relieved at all by his words. Her eyes were dark, and fearful. They had been fighting for a while, but his injury seemed to just make it even more real. And the possibility crossed Jack's mind that they might not even walk away from this fight in one piece, or at all.

Jack slashed with his staff and Katherine stabbed, but their efforts seemed in vain. Katherine seemed distracted, and Jack was starting to feel woozy from the blood loss in from leg. Blood littered the ground, from Jack's bite and the slashed snouts of all the wolves Katherine was fighting. Jack had to wrap his leg soon, but he couldn't until they were safe. He spotted a tree nearby that they could possibly run to, and it was plenty high. It was their only hope.

He turned to Katherine to tell her his plans, but he was cut short by a horrible sight, followed by Katherine's high-pitched scream.

A rather large wolf had pounced at her, and she had tried to slash it in the nose. But she had aimed far too low. The creature grabbed onto her hand, digging its teeth into her flesh, ripping her mitten to shreds. She screamed and Nightlight's dagger dropped to the ground, its bright white glow now tinted red.

"Jack!" She screamed as the beast tried to pull her away from him, to his hungry and awaiting pack.

Jack stepped forward, and took a mad swing at the wolf, but it didn't budge. He tried again, and nothing happened. Then Jack heard Katherine scream out again, but not in pain.

"Jack! Look out!" She cried.

Jack looked up just in time to see a pair of bright yellow eyes flying though the air at him, and a mouth full of bared teeth. The next thing he knew he was on his back in the deep snow, and the wolf was on top of him. The beast snapped in his face, trying desperately to rip out his throat. Jack held his staff in both hands, horizontally. It was the only thing that was keeping the wolf from tearing him to shreds. He grunted as he tried his best to keep the wolf's snapping jaws from his neck.

Katherine screamed, and Jack saw the wolf that was biting her hand had managed to pull her to the ground. She couldn't stab it, because the dagger was now behind her. All she could do was scream, and shout at the other wolves to stay away.

"Katherine!" Jack yelled desperately. She looked up at him, her eyes shining in pained tears as blood ran down her forearm. Her free arm was stuck under her. She pulled it out and placed it on her chest in a fist. Her fingers seemed to fumble with something, and then she blew into her hands. But before Jack could understand what was going on, the wolf that held Katherine started dragging her to his pack. She screamed and hit the creature, smashing it on the nose. Jack strained to try and help her, but the wolf on top of him started barking and trashing. It took all his effort to keep the wolf away from his neck. Jack pushed as hard as he could, and knew he couldn't keep this up any more. His arms were failing him, and he knew he had lost a bunch of blood. He looked up to Katherine one last time, and he saw a small white speck hovering above her. What in the world was that? Was he hallucinating now?

The small speck suddenly seemed to grab an oncoming blast of wind, and it shot into the trees. It seemed to glow like moonlight, and it's light sent ghostly shadows on the trees. It distracted the wolf on top of Jack long enough for him to throw it off of him. The wolf yelped as it flew through the air, landing on another of it's pack. Jack stood shakily and ran to Katherine, who was still screaming. He whacked the wolf, and with one solid smack, its teeth were pried from her bloody hand.

Jack pulled her up by her good hand and she crumpled into him, breathing hard. Quickly she ripped her shirt, and tried desperately to wrap her hand in the fabric.

"Back!" Jack yelled, swinging his staff madly. "B-back!"

But it was no use. The wolves circled them, like sharks do its prey, and Jack knew it was a matter of time until one more jumped. They were simply playing with their food, like the fear would tenderize Katherine and him to make them more delicious. And Jack had to admit, he feared right now. His vision was blurred, and he could feel himself shaking.

Katherine looked up at Jack. "Jack," She said. "The necklace, I …"

Jack looked down and saw that Katherine held the necklace Mother Nature had given her in her red hands. It was the necklace that held the three dandelion seeds, the ones that would lead them to a guardian of Santoff Claussen, or lead one to them, if they ever needed aid. Jack had completely forgotten about it until now, but Katherine hadn't. There were now only two dandelion seeds within the necklace. The white speck had been the first seed, off to find help. Jack breathed a sigh of relief as a shred of hope entered his heart. But it was quickly shattered by his fear.

"But how long?" Jack asked. "How long will it take for help to get here?"

"Hopefully," Katherine said, her eyes getting glossy, "Soon enough."

And then the girl collapsed into Jack's arms, leaving Jack startled and alone.


	4. Chapter 4: Santoff Claussen's Guardian

~The First Guardian of Santoff Claussen~

Jack clutched Katherine to his chest, breathing rapidly. Things weren't looking so good. His leg was still bleeding, it seemed like an artery had been cut. He struggled under Katherine's limp body to touch it, and frost it over. It slowed the bleeding to a small trickle, but he had already lost too much. His vision was getting darker, and his hearing muffling. But he could still hear the low grows of the wolves in the back of his mind, along with the occasional bark, and could see pairs of golden malicious eyes circling him, narrowed in desperation and hunger. He staggered backwards, dragging Katherine through the snow, which was difficult with his staff.

"B-back," He yelled shakily. Determination and bravery would shine in his eyes for a second as he would blast a wolf with frost, then would be overcome much to quickly with doubt and fear as the wolf recovered from the cold. "G-get ba-ack!"

But as soon as he would scare them away they would prowl back up, sneaking up on him from all sides. And as soon as they figured out he wasn't as strong as he was portraying himself to be, the beasts would overcome him. And little by little, yell after yell, he started to notice his words becoming more slurred, and his staff strikes were weak. All he could see was the faint glow gold eyes and fang-filled mouths, turned up in what seemed to be malicious smiles. He gripped Katherine's body to his, his footing becoming lost in the deep snow. All he could think of in his sleepy wounded mind was to keep her safe.

"Back," He said airily. "B-back, g-get away from h-her."

Jack's knees trembled beneath him, and he tried to blink away the darkness best he could. He was trapped. It was over. He wanted to let out a cry of desperation, hoping that whoever Katherine had summoned for help would hear him, hurry to their rescue. But he didn't have the energy.

In a flash his wobbly legs gave way under him and he collapsed. He used the momentum of the fall to land over Katherine, using his body as a shield. The least he could do now was use his own body to protect hers, and maybe she would be saved from the sharp unforgiving teeth that surrounded them, which he knew would lash out as soon as he hit the ground. He held her frizzy redheaded hair to his chest tightly, his teeth clenched and eyes tightened shut in a horrible anticipation of the pain that was to come. A silent second passed, with no sound but the sound of his own puffy breaths and the blood in his ears. And then another second passed. Silence. Not even a growl.

He fluttered open his tightly shut eyes, lifting his snow covered head cautiously. He was greeted with light. And not two yellow eyes, peering hungrily in the darkness. It was a beautiful white gold aura that engulfed the whole area, destroying every shadow. Jack squinted through the brightness, using his arm to lift himself higher. His eyes adjusted to the light slowly. Was he dead? Probably, considering that directly in front of him he saw an angel.

She was beautiful. Her eyes glistened green, as bright as two twin emeralds. Her robes flowed about her like colorful silk waves on the ocean. Beads covered her forehead in a beautiful headdress, and flowed through her hair. Bangles hung from her wrists and large earrings from her earlobes, and jewels were encrusted all around her neck. Did angels dress so colorfully? Maybe it was just the fact he hadn't seen any color for the past three days, just a bleak white winter landscape, that she seemed so bright and vivid.

After a moment more he realized that his leg and head still throbbed, which made him doubt he was dead. Katherine sighed in his arms. Snowflakes tickled his skin, but not with cold, which was normal. He looked around, and saw the wolf pack surrounding him, frozen in their places as they stared, almost frightened, almost curious, at the woman. Jack was very much alive. They had been saved in the nick of time, by one of the guardians of Santoff Claussen; The Enchantress of the Forest.

She lifted her bejeweled arms up, like she was embracing the sunrise, her eyes glowing green. Her golden white aura burned brighter, and Jack put his head back down so he wouldn't be blinded. The wolves around Jack and Katherine whimpered, backing away from their prey. Then, with a burst of light that must have been seen by even the Man in the Moon, they were sent scampering away into the dark woods.

Jack looked up at the woman, snow and blood covering his figure and she looked down at him, in all her glory and splendor. It made Jack feel like he was a bug. Another moment of silence passed, and she raised her eyebrow at him, as if she was waiting for him to speak. Sentences that he could say flew through his mind, from apologies and excuses, thanks and praises, to unlimited questions. A few pick-up lines came to mind as well. But when he opened his mouth to speak he was betrayed by his thoughtless sarcasm.

"Why don't I glow?"

She looked down at him with her gleaming green eyes, one eyebrow raised in confusion. Her pink lips cracked in a smile.

"Sleep, boy," Was all she said in reply, her voice soft and bell-like, and yet sturdy and strong. It mesmerized him, and for a fleeting second all he could think about was doing everything that voice asked him to do. He started to lie down, and go to sleep just like she asked. But then he snapped back to reality, remembering how Katherine told him the Enchantress would charm men to their graves.

"No," He said defiantly, and the woman stepped back in surprise, loosing her calm structure. Clearly she wasn't used to being contradicted. "I have some questions for you."

She calmed herself, recovering from her surprise. For a moment she even looked impressed. "Ask away."

Jack hoarsely whispered, "How much longer until we reach Santoff Claussen?"

"Your journey is far from over," Was all she said, an expression on her face Jack couldn't read. It was pitiful, but it was also cold.

Jack pushed himself up higher, perplexed. Katherine told him they weren't that far away. "Can you show us the way?"

She shook her head solemnly. " I cannot," She said with the same look. "I must protect the others who wait for you. The darkness is growing stronger with each nightfall." She gestured around them, at the darkness, then pulled her hands to her heart. "This is a journey that has been foretold, even before your time, Spirit. It is one you both must make on your own."

Jack sat up with a wince, exposing Katherine, who had been safe underneath him. Her face was white, her hand as red as her hair.

"This has all been foretold?" He asked in horror. He looked up at her, his blue eyes shining in dread. "Then who foretold it? The Man in the Moon?"

The maiden looked to the moon, her jewels glittering in the starlight. "This story is old, but not as old as he. But no one knows. Names, in time, are lost. Forgotten. But stories last forever, even if their creators die. Even if they end; they live on."

"Well, what story is this? How does this story end?" He asked, horribly confused. "How does this all end?"

She looked down at him, and took a breath. "Pieces are lost, forgotten. But those chosen," She said, looking into his eyes, "Remain, coming forward to live out the fairy tales that have been lost, without an end. There are thousands of stories that lie throughout this land you call home, tales woven deep within the ground, winding to the souls of those who live on this old planet. You two have been chosen, in this time, to rediscover this story. The story of the Boy of Frost, the Goose Girl, The Man of Darkness, The Lost Maiden of Winter. Everything is connected. You were created to protect the children's story, and to finish it. Before you were even born, the tale of a Winter Spirit was told. You were chosen to finish the story, as so many others have."

Jack moved position and pulled Katherine into his lap as she spoke, transfixed on her words, trying to comprehend what she was saying.

"This story has been lost through time," She said quickly. "But whispers of the story remain. 'The two weary travelers seeking something of lost, a maiden trapped in eternal sleep, an ancient prophecy hidden in the deepest of darkness'… You will find your path isn't so hard to find as you thought.

"This is something Katherine knows. It is something you need to understand." She urged.

"So are we just supposed to keep going?" He asked gruffly, his eyelids fluttering, "And keep 'piecing this story back together'? I don't understand what you mean. I don't understand how," He said hopelessly.

"Katherine will know what to do," She said, walking forward. She placed a soft hand onto Katherine's frozen cheek. "Keep her safe. She is special." She drew her hand away from her face, her eyes clouded, as if recalling a memory. She placed her hand onto Jack's mess of white hair, smiling sweetly, and he instantly began to numb to the outside world, his eyes shutting. The last thing Jack saw was a pair of beautiful green eyes. The last thing he heard was her voice, saying, "She understands what I speak of.

"For she is the one who taught it to me."


	5. Chapter 5: Frostnip

~Frostnip~

Jack awoke to Birdsong.

He opened his snowflake-encrusted eyelashes and let out a feeble cough. He shook his head and white powder fell out of his hair. His leg ached and his brain pulsed dully behind his eyes. He groaned and tried to reach his hand up to his aching head, but to his surprise it was stuck under something heavy. He looked down and saw a small figure peeking from the snow, a girl, tight in his embrace. Katherine's red hair and yellow coat were dusted in pure white snow. His arms were tight around her, and he could feel her breathing softly. She seemed calm and peaceful, uninjured and safe, but then Jack caught sight of her hand.

He wondered why he hadn't seen it sooner. Amongst the white snow, the bright red blood stood out in a horrifically beautiful way. It looked like her hand had been tended to, it was wrapped in a vibrant green bandage, but the blood had seeped through. The events of the night before flooded Jack's memory, and he sat up immediately. A fresh layer of snow covered up the footprints in the snow that mapped their struggle against the wolves that night. There was no sign of the Spirit of the Forest, except the bandages she had left on Katherine's hand. It looked like the cloth had been ripped from the Enchantress's dress. Jack silently prayed that the wolf bite had not injured her so badly that she could no longer use her hand to write her stories.

Jack slowly sat up, but Katherine didn't stir. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. As the stars were clearing from his vision he blindly brushed the white snow from Katherine's hair and body. But to his surprise, when he could finally see clearly, he found her torso and back were still covered in white. He brushed harder, but the white stayed.

He looked in closer to the sticky snow, wondering if it had frozen to her coat. But to his horror he found that the strange snow was not even snow, but beautiful swirling patterns of… Frost.

He backed away from Katherine immediately, breathing heavily. His hands shook like leaves, his eyes blinking rapidly.

"No, no no no no," He said quickly. He rolled Katherine onto her back, exposing her face to the light. Thin spirals of ice that branched off into small swirling flowers covered the higher half of her face, the frost only on the side that Jack had been close to.

"Frostbite," He whispered, placing his hand on the side of her face. Frost burst from his fingers and began to cover the lower half of her face before he could draw them away.

He sucked in a breath, cursing himself. He shook her shoulders, trying to wake her.

"Come on Goose Girl," He coached. "Wake up, please, wake up, we need to get you warm. Katherine, Katherine!" He dragged her into a sitting position, careful not to touch any exposed skin. Her eyelids fluttered open and she took in a small, slow breath.

"What?" She whispered hoarsely. Then a powerful shiver racked though her whole body, making her shudder uncontrollably. Jack held her until she was still

She leaned onto Jack's chest. "Why am I so cold?" She asked him, still shivering.

Jack was already removing her backpack when he answered. "Frostbite," He said quickly. "But its okay, you're still shivering, which means you haven't progressed into one of the, um… Later stages. It's most likely just Frostnip right now. We just need to get your warmed up. Your going to be fine, fine fine fine…" He muttered to himself along with a hopeless chuckle, like a madman.

He tore through the backpack until he found the thickly lined bag that held five coals that they had taken from North's Workshop. They had only used the bag a few times, because although the enchantment on the bag could contain heat, if it was opened the heat that escaped could not be regenerated. The coals had gone from scalding to burning, now they were just hot, and a few were simply warm. But when Jack held the bag, he could barely feel any heat from within. But it would have to do.

He opened the bag and picked up a warm coal. Then he turned to Katherine, and took her uninjured hand. Katherine made no move of protest, she was staring at her hurt hand with a look of fear, like it was a wild animal that was threatened her life. But she made no scene when she saw it sitting there bloodily in the snow; she kept quiet, which worried Jack (She was never quiet).

He placed the coal in her hand, knowing that just holding the coal had cooled it down enough for Katherine. If it was too hot, it could cause some horrible muscle damage to the frozen tendons in her fingers. It wouldn't damage her hands, but it would hurt.

As the frozen nerves in Katherine's fingers came back to life she whimpered sleepily. She leaned up against Jack until the pain subsided, and her hand was more red and pink than blue and white. Then she took her warm hand and pressed it to her face, melting the delicate frost that covered her thin skin. And after a very long time of thawing out frozen skin, Katherine could move her fingers and feel her face—no lasting damage done…hopefully.

While Katherine defrosted Jack took off her socks (Then put her feet back into her boots) and placed them in the coal bag with her cold, wet gloves and scarf. He could hear them sizzle, drying off and heating the clothes but cooling off the coals. Katherine wouldn't have approved, but this was an emergency. Besides, maybe they would find some dry wood ahead to make a fire to heat the coals up once again.

After Katherine's feet and hands were shoved back into toasty socks and mittens and her neck wrapped in a warm scarf, he helped her to her feet. Her feet had been better protected than her hands and face, so she had no trouble standing. She seemed utterly miserable standing there in the cold, shivering like a kitten. Jack knew they had to keep moving, if they stayed her frostbite would surely get worse, and hypothermia would set in. So he pushed her on, and he lead her farther into the woods, constantly giving her words of encouragement as she stumbled about in the deep snow. And in those long hours out in the freezing snow, suddenly things became very real to Jack; their situation was much more dire than he had thought. And for the first time he considered the fact that Katherine's life was on the line. Her blue fingers and ears casted fearful chills down his spine. They had to move, and get to Santoff Claussen before it was too late.

So the two children pressed on, all the while Jack dying to help Katherine, who staggered in the ice and snow behind him. And every time she would reach out to him he would lurch away, the fear eating at him that if he touched her, his cold heart would only make her freeze faster.

And so the trek was made in silence, Katherine cradling her hurt hand and Jack staring at his own, looking at them like they were no longer the hands he had known for 300 years—but hands that had only shown their true colors that morning in the snow.


	6. Chapter 6: Repetitive Fate

-Repetitive Fate-

"So, how are we going to cross?" Katherine asked, breaking the silence that had lingered since that morning.

Ahead of the two adventurers was a river as wide as a ten-lane road. The water in the freezing cold river seemed frozen, but Jack knew better. He could hear the water under the ice moving rather fast, faster than he could walk, making the ice thin and weak. If he walked out onto the ice as it was, it would crack for sure. He couldn't wade through it either with Katherine on his back, as they had done for their previous river encounters. He wished for the millionth time that day he could fly.

"The ice is thin, and the river is going faster than I can walk, so we can't wade through it," Jack said. He turned to her and said, "Do you have any suggestions, Goose Girl?"

She pondered for a moment. "Could you make a bridge?" She asked.

"I could try," He said, scratching his head. "I'm not sure how sturdy it will be though, that's a wide river. The only way for me to make a strong bridge is by putting some ice posts in the water, to hold it up. But there could be chunks of ice in the water current, it could knock them down."

Katherine looked out over the water, and pulled off her yellow hood. Her red hair blew in the frigid wind, but her small face stayed solemn and expressionless.

"Could you freeze it?" She asked suddenly.

Mother Nature's sleep had thrown the earth's systems into chaos; but not not all of Jack's power came from nature itself, it came from within himself (As he had learned when his staff had been broken by Pitch 2 years previous). He didn't rely on Mother Nature, unlike the winds, to regulate his powers. He could freeze this river, easy. But he didn't know how long it would stay frozen.

"Yes," He replied several moments later. "But it wont stay frozen for long. The water upstream can only be kept back a little while before the force of it trying to get through will break the ice."

"Is it our best bet?" She asked.

"Yes."

And with that it was settled.

They took all the precautions that they could before they crossed. All Katherine's things were packed away tightly into the backpack, and it sat heavy on Jack's back. The extra weight made him feel very strange. For a spirit that could fly with the breeze on a whim and had been chained to the ground, he had adapted rather well. But the backpack made him feel tied down from the sky, and he felt slightly claustrophobic stuck on the ground.

Katherine stood a distance from him even now, buttoning up her coat all the way and pulling up her hood over her ears, tucking her hair in. There was some frost covering over her ears. Jack wondered if it was simply because of the cold, or if his anxiousness was making him subconsciously frost everything around him. He tried to take a deep breath, but couldn't seem to calm his heart. The river roared by loudly under the thin ice and Jack looked at it hesitantly.

"Are you sure we cant just go around?" Jack asked suddenly. "Will the river lead to Santoff Claussen if we follow it?"

Katherine shook her head. "I am not sure where we are, we could be many places. But I know we haven't traveled East enough to have passed Santoff Claussen, that place is hard to miss. And there is no river like this running to or from Santoff Claussen. I don't know how long it will take for us to walk upstream and find a better place to cross. We don't have enough time; the Winter Solstice will be here in just a few days. We have got to cross here."

Jack stared at the water for a second and tried to calculate how long it would hold. He couldn't freeze it for long. If he froze the whole river then the force of the water upstream would surely break the ice trying to get through. If he just froze the top layer thickly then some water would be able to travel through the bottom of the river. It surely wouldn't hold much longer than freezing the whole thing, but it was a better bet than freezing it whole. They would just have to be careful.

"Are you ready?" She asked suddenly. "Are you sure about this?"

Jack smiled cheekily, swinging his staff onto his shoulder. "Pretty sure," He said with a forced carefree tone. He abandoned his fake smile quickly and his face became solemn. "Just stay close to me and walk fast."

"Alright," She nodded, stepping back. She motioned her arms to the river curtly. "Ladies first," She taunted.

Jack smiled and swung his staff off his shoulder, walking through the snow to the edge of the water. Katherine started following in his footsteps.

"I can refreeze the ice if it starts to crack. Just stay near me, the ground will be more solid where I am," he said. "The ice wont stay in place for long-So stay close. And move fast."

With those last words Jack slammed his staff onto the river with full force. He could feel the hem of his cloak lift from the ground as cold air rushed up and away from the river. The water that gathered on the side of the channel, slushing around the rocks, rushed away from his staff. Katherine covered her face as the cold winds rushed around them. Jack kept his eyes fixed on the river, watching as the ice thickened. It froze more than he had wanted it too, but there was still some water movement under the ice, which meant that upstream would still be stilled long enough for them to cross.

Jack grabbed Katherine's hand and yanked her onto the ice, running at full speed. She stumbled behind him trying to keep up, completely oblivious to the feeling of Jack's freezing cold hand burning through her glove. She slipped around on the ice, relying on Jack heavily. The ground was slick, and it wasn't entirely flat. Katherine blundered in Jack's wake, slipping and tripping all the while. Although Jack was light on his feet and rather good on the ice, he was also having a hard time; but if you compared him to Katherine he must have looked like an agile ballerina.

Jack winced as Katherine once again slipped on the ice, pulling on his arm with a jerk that could well have popped his arm out of socket. She yelped as he pulled her roughly back up and forcefully forward, not changing his fast past in the slightest. He clutched her hand so tightly her fingers became numb, not that he noticed. But she noticed. He also didn't notice the spirals of frosted ice covering her glove climbing up her arm.

"Jack!" She called out in fear. "Jack, my hand! Jack! Let go!"

He didn't hear her, he was panting loudly as he ran. He slid for a moment on the ice and Katherine caught a look at his face. It was not creased in determination as she had thought it would be; it was covered in fear. She realized that his panting wasn't from effort; it was from his panic. And the faster he ran and the louder he panted, the more cold seemed to radiate from him, and the more ice spread across her arm.

She watched as the frost started climbing over her shoulder, toward her heart. Dread struck her at the thought of the cold reaching her core, and in her alarm she lost control. She ripped her hand from Jack's and immediately slid on the ice without his support, nearly falling to the ground. She kept moving, slipping every time she lifted a foot from the ground.

Jack looked back at her, confused. He tried to take her hand again, thinking it had slipped out of his grasp. But she held it to her chest, out of reach.

"You're so cold," Was all she said.

Jack saw the frost covering her arm and remembered the previous morning's events. His face paled. He let Katherine stumble in front of him so that if she fell he wouldn't need to go back for her.

Katherine made better progress walking on her own when they were going slowly, but Jack egged her on and on to go faster. She held back on her speed, afraid of tripping and hitting the ice hard.

Well, that was until she heard the ice begin to crack.

Katherine and Jack froze, exchanging a look of panic. Then they tore across the ice so fast that every other step for Katherine was a slip. Jack attempted to keep her running, catching her with his staff or his arms right before she fell every time she slipped. They were so close, 20 yards away from the other side, and the ground was still rather solid. Jack breathed a sigh of relief. They were going to make it. The cracks forming upstream wouldn't reach them until they were off the ice. He knew that they were home free.

But then Katherine fell.

She fell so hard and so fast Jack couldn't even keep her from falling. He didn't even have the time to stop himself from falling over her.

He tripped over Katherine's sprawled out body, flying over her and smashing to the ground.

Crack.

The sound split through the air like a gunshot. Jack shook his head and got to his hands and knees, and saw a deep crevice running through the rather thin ice. Right under him.

Crack.

"Run!" He yelled, grabbing Katherine's hand and hauling her up. He pulled her behind him for a moment before she ripped her hand out of his again. He figured his hands were too cold for her again, and paid no attention to it. It wasn't until a few more moments that he realized something was wrong. He felt far lighter than he had before, and the sound of Katherine's footsteps behind him had disappeared.

Crack.

Jack whirled around sloppily and touched his back at the same time, and his fears were confirmed. Directly ahead Katherine stumbled away from him, moving toward the backpack that carried all of what they had, forgotten on the ice. It must have fallen off his back when he tripped over Katherine.

She grabbed the bag and turned to him, breaking into a run, her face stony with determination. He yelled out to her, telling her to hurry, run faster. He watched as the cracks in the ice ran after her like lightning bolts taking over the sky, quickly filling with water. The sight sparked a memory of his to the surface, one with similar circumstances; a small girl, a boy with a staff, and ice that the boy had mistakenly taken as strong enough to bear their weight.

Crack.

Jack watched Katherine fall from the perspective that his sister had watched him fall 300 years ago. She was there one second, and then she was gone, leaving nothing but the echo of her desperate scream, "JACK!"

He shouted and ran forward on impulse, but the ice was far too weak to support his weight. It broke apart under his load and he was cast into the water after her headfirst.

The immobilizing, cold water and broken ice enclosed over them in a roar of cold that felt almost like a blanket tucking them in to the winter spirit.

And then the world went deathly silent and numb to the lost children.


	7. Chapter 7: Condemned

~Condemned~

Jack tumbled through the water holding to his staff desperately. He flailed in the water, failing at trying to find which way was up and which way was down. He took his best guess and recklessly swam to what he hoped was the surface. He anticipated that all the ice had cracked, or else he would be trapped underneath. He prayed that he wouldn't have to relieve the event of being entombed under the ice. History had a strange way of repeating himself.

The only thing that kept Jack from hyperventilating as he swirled under the ice was the thought of Katherine. The voices in his screamed in fear of drowning, but the screams shouting her name were louder. They pushed him hard, and he finally broke though to the surface.

He gasped for air like a singer before a high note, the pressure in his lungs releasing. But his reunion with the surface was cut short, and he was dragged under once again by the current.

When he popped back up many yards downstream he coughed out the water in his throat and screamed out, "Katherine!" with all his might. He couldn't see her anywhere due to the large pieces of ice all around him. "Katheri-" He was heaved under yet again, the word still on his lips.

He resurfaced near a large bobbing piece of ice. He took action and grabbed hold of it, pulling his torso out of the water. He pumped his legs as hard as he could to stay on it, all the while feverishly looking about for Katherine. He kicked up on the ice to get a better view. There was no sign of her around him adrift in the water along the ice chunks that dipped about like bumper cars.

Far ahead Jack's eye caught something yellow. The ice parted for a moment and revealed the lost girl floating far ahead on a small piece of ice. Her body was limply draped over it and only her torso and head were out of the water. She continued down the rapids like a frail leaf in a violent storm, her body barely staying on her small iceberg.

Jack dived into the water and immediately started treading to get to her side. She seemed so far away. He tried to keep her in his sight at all times, only breaking his gaze on her to dive around the ice.

Soon she was close enough for Jack to touch with his staff. He could see her face, pale as death, and her closed eyes. Her lips were blue. He reached out to her, but the river's pattern changed. Suddenly the vital balance Katherine had on her iceberg was tipped as she went over a large rapid. She teetered too far forward, and her body was dumped into the river headfirst.

Jack plunged into action and dove. His feet kicked and his hand searched though the water around him. He used his staff to probe around for her body. He came back up for air, but hit something hard. He pushed away from the chunk of ice above him, popping up on the left side of it. He gasped and plunged back into the water, his head spinning from the impact with the ice.

Panic started to heighten once he surfaced after his third dive. He went up, inhaled deeply, and went back down. He couldn't see a thing in the water, all he could do was try and find her with his hand and staff. It was hard to focus on his task though, his mind was fuzzy with anxiety, and his heart was pumping in dread. The chances of finding such a small girl in such a large, crazed river was low, and with time it was getting lower. How long had she been without air?

At the thought his own lungs started to ache for another breath, but he strained himself to stay under a few extra seconds. His hand brushed something that wasn't ice. He grabbed at it, pulling himself to it. It was decently heavy, and it felt like fabric. He squinted in the water and saw yellow. He could have cried in relief, but his instincts took over. He wrapped his arms around her and kicked to the surface, straining to haul both their weights though the water.

He surfaced the fourth time successful, and gasping. He blinked away the ice water in his eyes while he adjusted his grip on Katherine. He leaned backwards in the water, laying her on his chest. Her body was lifeless, just dead weight on top of him. Her head was slack and her mouth kept falling below the water line—he had to keep propping her head back up on his chest. Red streaks of hair covered her face.

Jack huffed as he strained to keep them afloat in the crazy rapids. His breath came out in puffs of fog and were lost quickly behind them as they moved with the river. After a few moments Jack saw that Katherine's foggy breath didn't follow his own.

The realization she wasn't breathing sparked him to kick harder. He pumped his legs until they felt like jelly, and even when they did he kept swimming. Katherine's head slipped back into the water and he quickly held her chin up and hugged her close. After a few more powerful kicks Jack knew he couldn't hold them up much longer, and, like an answer to prayer, he felt something sold brush under his feet. The pull of the river lessened.

He stretched his legs down and they scraped against an uneven surface of stones. He got a good foothold in the rocks and walked them towards shore. The current tried to drag them away and Jack almost lost his footing multiple times, and slowly but surely he made his way across the rocky riverbed to shore.

Soon Jack could grab at the rocks with his hands. He turned his body towards the river. He was too weak to carry Katherine, so he flattened out his body (with her on top of him) and dragged them backwards. He panted as he heaved them onto the land, and after a few pulls he felt the rocks supporting his back. He relaxed for a moment and went limp. He groaned loudly.

He gradually put his arms around Katherine and sat up. He turned to the shoreline and got onto his knees. He stumbled his way to the shore, Katherine in his arms. He crossed the line of ice at the water edge and carefully sat Katherine onto the snow-covered rocks.

He put his ear on her chest and hovered his hand above her mouth at the same time. He couldn't feel her breath on his palm and he couldn't hear her heart. Her lips were blue. She was lifeless.

He brought his hands together and started pressing on her chest rhythmically, trying to get her heart to beat. Water sloshed out of her mouth with each press.

"Come on Katherine," Jack begged. The sight of Katherine like this, a small girl seemingly dead, horrified him. He had seen so many people die this way. She couldn't die like this too—he wouldn't let her. She couldn't already be dead.

"Breathe, breathe, breathe, breathe—" He chanted with the beat of the compressions. More ice water spilled out between her lips. Jack was in hysterics.

"Breathe, breathe, breathe." He prayed, pleading to the Man in the Moon. "Please breathe, please breathe," It was getting hard for himself to breathe. Was she dead? Had he killed her?

"Oh Manny," He whispered in horror as he continued compressions on Katherine's lifeless form. It took everything he had not break down and have a complete panic attack. He had hauled a corpse out of the river. What was he going to do without her, in the middle of this wasteland? Could he continue the mission alone? What would he tell the others? What would Nightlight do?

"Oh Manny please," His voice broke with a dry sob. "Please," He begged in a breathless hiss, "Please—"

Katherine's chest pushed up against his hands. His eyes shot open, and so did hers. "Katherine!" He hollered in relief.

Katherine's unseeing eyes widened and she was pitched into a violent coughing fit. Water burbled from her mouth and her chest heaved painfully as she tried to get the water out of her lungs. Jack pulled her up against him and whispered calm reassurances. Her breathing was wet and shallow. He felt her pulse as she coughed ice water out onto his shirt—it was so weak. But it was there. How long it would stay he didn't know.

She held her hands to her chest and struggled to breathe. Vehement spasms of shivering ravaged her whole body, taxing her of energy she didn't have to spare. Jack knew that was good anyway. Hypothermia got serious when the shaking stopped, and it looked like Katherine wouldn't have the energy left to shake soon. All her energy was gone, and her warmth too, drained from the cold river. He knew he had to get her warm, and get some food in her. It was her only chance.

"The b-bag is g-g-gone," Katherine choked out. "I l-let it g-go, I cou-couldn't swim w-with—"

Jack hushed her. "Don't worry, you made the right choice. Its fine—everything is going to be absolutely fine. You're going to be okay. I…I can figure something else out." His voice was unsteady. Was he lying to himself? The bag was lost along with all their maps, the compass, food, flint and steel, warm coals, and other necessities for Katherine's survival. They were stranded in the middle of Russia, sopping wet, hungry, hopelessly lost, and running out of time. Mother Nature had told them Pitch's plan was centered on the Winter Solstice, and they had been wandering for days. The only had a few more left. He was afraid Katherine wouldn't even be alive by the solstice.

"Jack," Katherine said softly, haunted by the stony expression Jack didn't even knew he wore. His body was rigid, and his clothes were becoming stiff with ice. He was unknowingly freezing them with his cold.

"What?" He asked, lost in anxious thought.

"I'm so cold."

"I know, I know," He uttered soothingly. He stroked her hair in a brotherly way, laying her head down onto his bent leg. He wanted to keep her as far away from him and his cold as he could. It broke his heart—the one thing she was asking for was the one thing he couldn't ever give anyone. Warmth.

Katherine slowly closed her eyes. Jack continued talking to reopen them, knowing he had to try and keep her conscious. "We'll get you someplace nice and warm really soon, okay? I promise. I bet we're almost to your home." He hoped he wasn't lying.

Katherine's eyes opened and wandered. They were glassy.

Jack tried to think as he stared ahead into the darkening woods. He had to be the responsible one now; Katherine was in no state of mind to be of assistance to him. The roles and been reversed and she had become the child on this journey instead of him.

He mentally went through their advantages and disadvantages, and found little chance and hope in the ratio of the two. Their bag and supplies was gone and the light of the sun straining though the clouds was getting fainter—the few hours of daylight were coming to their end. The temperature would soon plummet. There was no way he could make a fire, he never had been able to, and he couldn't give off any body heat for Katherine. She was already on the brink of the last stage of hypothermia. He had no idea what direction Santoff Claussen was or how far away they were from it. Katherine couldn't walk, and Jack felt so weak—he doubted he could carry her long. Santoff Claussen could be twice the distance they had already traveled away.

The voice of reason in Jack's mind told him Katherine didn't have a chance. He rudely told the voice where it should go, but it didn't stop nagging. Katherine was smart, and Jack hoped the voice in her head wasn't telling her the same thing.

He unclasped his cloak (something he now realized he really should had done in the river) and scraped off the ice and frost. . He tucked it around Katherine's shaking body. The fabric was wet and cold, but it would help keep in whatever body heat she still had.

Katherine shifted in his arms, her hands moved up to her throat. She was trying to take off her sopping wet gloves.

"Leave them on," Jack said. "You'll stay warmer, trust me."

Katherine persisted stubbornly and soon only had one glove. He reached for the fallen glove and tried to put it back on. Katherine swatted his hand away and fumbled with the top of her coat. Jack sighed, thinking she was trying to take that off too. He knew from experience when people got too cold their bodies would do strange things, he had seen frozen people taking off their clothes because they thought they were burning up. It was one of the later stages of hypothermia.

"No, Katherine," He said patiently. She persisted. "Katherine, stop."

Her trembling fingers drew away from her throat, a string of silver entwined between them. The necklace had somehow stayed around her neck through the crazed rapids and had two seeds left within the glass orb, and she was trying to set one free.

She fumbled with the glass bead for a moment, but her numb fingers were clumsy. Jack took if from her with gentle hands and released the second dandelion seed into the air before them. It floated cheerfully on a private breeze, bobbing about Jack's head, glowing with ethereal light.

Jack hadn't seen the first seed the night of the wolf attack; it had shot off into the dark to find the Spirit of the Forest as soon as Katherine had released it. Jack wondered why this one wasn't doing the same—they needed help now more than ever. Why wasn't the seed off in search for help?

"What is it doing?" Jack asked Katherine. Her eyes had shut again, and it took time to rouse her again. "Katherine, it's not doing anything."

Katherine looked up at the seed and muttered under her breath, her breathing still too rapid from her shaking to let her speak clearly. Jack caught a few seemingly unrelated words: "Cold, forest, no, bare, cold."

Jack hushed her soothingly but his calm act was quickly deteriorating. He became lost in his own thoughts, grasping at whatever hope they had left and trying to form it into a plan for survival. He could form no such plan.

A cold breeze passed over the river that had conceivably condemned Katherine's life. Jack shaped his body around her, protecting her from the wind that was coursing from the North. He could smell a storm between the folds of air—a scent he was trained to distinguish. The snow was inopportunely returning to him after leaving him earlier that day. He had hoped for a longer time apart from it—he had willed it away. In the end it seemed his uncontrollable emotions had brought it back like they always did.

The unwelcome wind carried the obstinate dandelion seed away from them, pushing it to the forest. The seed danced through the bare trees ahead and stopped motionless in the air, despite the wind still coursing around it. Was there no help nearby for it to find? Were they beyond help?

Jack's breathing grew nearly as rapid as Katherine's as the weight of the situation overwhelmed his senses. The fear and anxiety he had been trying to keep suppressed bubbled up, and his whole body tensed as the floodgates broke free. He had been forced to stay on his toes for Katherine's benefit the whole duration of the journey—but the energy it took to hold up the barriers on his emotions had been spent in the river. The cold seeped out of him, he couldn't hold onto it anymore. It left him in short bursts, covering everything around him in frost. He didn't notice he had lost his grip on his powers until Katherine's whole upper body was covered in ivory cold frost. The white painted even her eyelashes closed.

When Jack tore his eyes from the forest his surprise and shock at seeing Katherine covered in his handiwork brought a sharp yelp and another release of frost. The second layer thickened the first, spreading it further.

Before Jack could release another burst of cold he scrambled away from Katherine, leaving her lifeless body alone on the wet stone. He stood and stepped away from her, his eyes bugging out of their sockets. His breaths came out in wheezes as the panic and guilt overcame him. He knew he had condemned her fate to death, as it seemed he had already done for so many of his other friends. First there had been Snow, and then Nightlight, and now Katherine was fading away from him. Were the Guardians next? Was Jamie? Was he himself, next? Would he himself go mad over the death of his friends and become a reclusive, destructive winter spirit, roaming Russia for a magical town that he and his dead friend could never find?

Jack's eyes misted over at the horrible thoughts and Katherine's shaking form began to blur. He stood motionless; his legs strong and locked beneath him in order to support the quaking mess above them. Never in his three hundred years of existence had he felt so alone, and so guilty. He knew Katherine's life was in his hands, but he also knew if he took her into his hands she would freeze to death at such a close proximity to his anxious cold. He knew the Guardians were relying on him and Katherine to infiltrate Pitch's plan, but he knew Katherine could never get there with him, and he couldn't bear to leave her to die. Would he have to? Would he have to let her freeze and her body become lost to the wilderness?

He knew he couldn't, and he wouldn't. But what else was there to do?

Jack sniffed and tried to clear his eyes. "I don't-" He said, choking on his words. "I don't know what to do." He repeated himself over and over, each time getting louder and more desperate. His hands worked up into his hair, tugging and ripping as he spoke in an emotionless voice. He was beyond feeling, and beyond grief and guilt. "I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do."

Quickly the phrase became less a sentence and more of a muttered chant, the words blending and changing in such a way that a bystander would have thought Jack a true madman. He paced about on the rocks with his hands entwined in his hair, his staff forgotten on the ground. The river edge behind him started to freeze, and pulses of cold from Jack's chest covered everything in a 5 foot radius in frost, including himself. Snow started to fall from the clouds and seep into Katherine's soaking clothes.

The girl struggled to open her eyes as her body functions shut down from the cold. She faced the empty forest, her back turned to Jack. Thinking he had left her for dead she called out to the woods desperately, but her voice was barely a whisper. "Jack!" She tried to call, her body convulsing on the word. "Jack! Jack!"

Immediately Jack was crouched on the ground in front of her wiping at his eyes. "It's okay, It's okay," He said soothingly, hushing her like a child. "I'm right here with you. I'm not going to leave you. I promise."

"Oh Jack," She whispered, tears leaking down her ice-cold cheeks. "I'm scared." Her frail body was going to sleep—Jack knew it. He could feel the cold claiming it. He himself had first-person experience with hypothermia. Her muscles were tightening, immobile, giving up. You could see in her eyes she wasn't all there. Without her clever mind and extensive knowledge reflecting in her stone grey eyes she looked so young. Jack's breath hitched and he brought up his hand to silence himself at the sight of her fading before him. She was so young.

He took in a long, steadying breath. "Yeah?" He finally answered, trying to think of a good response to reassure her. He shook his head in defeat, "I'm… I'm scared too. But I'm not going to leave you. I'll be right here." He wrapped his fingers around her hand and squeezed it to solidify the statement. Her glove became hard under his skin as the water in it froze, freezing her hand with it.

She took in a sharp breath of pain and he quickly withdrew, his nimble feet backing away from her slightly. Her eyes closed, and Jack let his head fall into his hands, cradling himself back and forth. The powers he had were out of his control now. He couldn't touch her, let alone keep her warm. was he supposed to get her home to Santoff Claussen?

He used his staff to pull himself up onto his shaking, weary legs, distancing himself from her even more. Her shivering was stopping, slowing. It wouldn't be long now before her heart did the same. He didn't want to quicken the process—but he wondered if it was cruel of him to let her freeze slowly to death when he could end it all so quickly.

He looked away from Katherine, dashing the thought. He looked out into the woods before them, the bare trees scratching the grey sky. This would be a beautiful resting place for her, he thought, especially in the spring. The branches would stretch over her soul and the stream would talk to her. It was a beautiful grave.

Between the trees floated the lone dandelion seed, glowing brilliantly. It danced, casting light on the snow. It would dash away and then draw forward, beaconing him. Jack took a few steps forward, testing it. The seed glided off through the trees, away from him, then stopped, waiting. It was leading him to something. Hopefully it was Santoff Claussen. His heart lifted. There was hope that he could finish the quest, even if he had to do it on his own. He could find out how to save Snow from Pitch, and stop whatever plans he had.

Subconsciously he took another step forward, lost in thought. Katherine stirred behind him, her face resting on the stone.

"Jack?" She called out to him. Jack's body went rigid and all his desire to leave Katherine disappeared. Her voice sounded remarkably like his sister's had.

He rushed back to her side, apologizing madly. He tried to get his emotions under control so he could comfort her, smooth down her hair—but he didn't trust himself. "I'm here, I'm here," He assured her. "I'm not going to leave you."

"Jack?" She said again, her eyes lost and unfocused, looking right through him. A tear streaked down her pale cheek. The snow was falling steadily around them now, and it seemed her anxiety was heightening. "I never wanted to tell you."

"Tell me what?" He asked softly. "You can tell me anything."

"Where we're going," She said slowly, "It's not my real home. It's my adoptive home. Ombric, the man we're going to see, isn't really my father." She burst into tears—weak, listless tears.

Jack tried to soothe her but it was difficult to without touching her. "It's okay, it's okay," He cooed next to her, hugging his knees to his chest. He wondered if he was trying to comfort her or himself with the words. Her distress was making him upset as well, and the quickening snowfall around them was a testament of it.

"I never—I never even really got to meet my parents," She coughed out between breaths. "They died in a snowstorm."

Jack's heavy heart became empty and hollow in his chest. He didn't want to hear anymore, but she continued.

"Pitch knew this was my biggest fear," She continued. "And now it's actually happening. It's all actually happening."

The terror in her face broke him he had to look away. He started shaking, much harder than she was now shaking. She took a deep breath.

"I'm going to die out here just like them."

Jack's eyes focused back on Katherine. She had closed her eyes. Jack tried to imagine her sprit resting here as he had before, and he couldn't. He wouldn't let her.

"No," He said loudly. "No you wont."

Right then on the bank of that cursed river in the middle of Siberia, something in Jack changed. Maybe a sliver of ice broke and allowed something to flow, maybe something thawed, maybe something froze. But something changed.

His mind cleared and he stepped away from his emotions, snapping the bond that tied them and his powers. He felt in control of himself—more in control than he ever had been before. He didn't feel afraid of himself.

Quickly he took Katherine up into his arms, stumbling to a standing position. He didn't have to check to make sure he wasn't freezing her—he knew he wasn't. He was in control, and he wasn't going to let himself hurt her.

Then with indolent, trembling legs he ran into the forest after the light of the seed, the wind at his back guiding him and his small guide to sanctuary.


	8. Chapter 8: Sanctuary

~Sanctuary~

The fourth night of their journey was the worst of Jack's life.

The snow around him was thick and the wind was fierce, changing direction every moment it saw fit. It blew him backwards, pushed him forward, and shoved him from side to side. The snow on the ground was extremely thick and Jack's calves burned with the effort of pushing through it and keeping his balance at the same time. His back and shoulders ached from the tense strain of holding Katherine, and his arms felt they would melt off his body. He could barely see anything in the storm and his wind-tossed hair wasn't helping. He only stopped to adjust Katherine, who was constantly slipping.

Jack didn't do much daydreaming—all of his energy was focused on putting one foot in front of the other and following the guiding light before him. His body urged him to stop every moment, his eyelids constantly betraying him. Through pure willpower, not the use of his powers, he dragged himself and Katherine's lifeless body across the icy wasteland.

Miles later he stopped a moment in the wake of a large tree and tucked Katherine's scarf back over her face and turned her to face into his shoulder. He could feel the rise and fall of her chest against his own and his feet worked in rhythm with it.

Hours passed, measured only in the breaths Katherine took. Jack mused to himself in the hours of silence, wondering if he had walked more in the past few days than he had in his whole existence as a guardian. His body assured him he was probably right—he had never ached as he did now. It seemed his spine would break, or his body would just fall apart at the seams.

His legs trembled and his arms shook. The deeper into the wilderness he went, blindly following the dandelion seed, the deeper the snow became around his knees. In some unfortunate places it rose up to his thighs, and in some places even deeper. The trees around him became larger and wilder, and the great branches whipped about wildly like the cape at his back. He rested his head atop Katherine's, blocking himself from the icy wind that rubbed his cheeks raw.

He stumbled in the snow for the umpteenth time, barely catching himself before he fell face first into the snow. His legs moved groggily and it was no surprise he fell moments later, unable to catch himself again. He sat in the snow for a moment, his limbs rejoicing in the rest and the stillness of the cold. His mind began to silence itself and melt into the snow he laid in as it did every night he slept, but there was something different there with him in the cold. The warmth and pulse of Katherine's fragile life in his hands roused him from his mindless state, and he struggled to move again.

Getting up was a civil war against mind and body. His mind won the battle and the defeated carried him off deeper into the woods. It seemed his legs were unattached from his body, moving on their own as his mind wandered. The world was blurred and hazy and everything was swirling around him. He couldn't even see the light that was guiding him anymore.

The only consistency around him was the feeling of Katherine's life in his arms and his feet moving to the beat of her breath. Both were a much slower tempo now. His mind chanted her name with the beat, which kept him from slipping away from his body entirely.

He didn't know when he fell again, or how long he had been lying in the snow. His mind was stimulated for only one moment before he lost consciousness again, and his body remained latent.

He pried his eyes open, which was as hard to do as it had been for him to stand. His fingers twitched around Katherine's coat, but he couldn't make his body create any more movement. He couldn't see anything around him—it was all a blur of white. The storm was at its peak.

All control and energy he had over his body drained away, and his blinking eyes started to close. Before his eyes could roll into the back of his head and his spirit detach from his body to rest he saw something nearing him quite quickly—a small light. It grew brighter and brighter, and then Jack was gone.

His eyes closed completely and he drifted away. The last thing he felt was the warmth of Katherine in his arms, and the immense strength of another pair of warm, furry arms encircling around his worm body. A word echoed through his void mind—Sanctuary.


	9. Chapter 9: Attack on the Pole

~Attack on the Pole~

Toothaina fluttered about wringing her hands in anxiety. A few of her Baby Teeth darted around her, twittering in uneasy tones. The winter storms encircling the world had started getting even worse, which had seemed impossible. Schools were shutting down for weeks at a time, power lines were failing, and people were being buried alive in their own homes. Or, if you were a guardian, you were being buried alive in your own Warden.

Tooth's little teeth collectors were having a rather hard time getting to the teeth that needed collecting. It wasn't that the winter cold made it difficult; they were equipped for any weather condition. Their fast metabolisms and rapidly beating hearts were able to endure practically any kind of temperature. But the wind was being careless, mindless even, and the small Baby Teeth were having a hard time maneuvering in the storm. Plus many children were displaced from their homes, seeking shelter other places. Tooth wasn't too worried about her baby teeth, though. She knew that as long as there were teeth that needed to be collected, they would have the drive to find them. Her anxieties lied elsewhere.

Something was wrong, she could tell. Something big was about to happen. The whole world was being thrown out of balance at the anticipation of it. The Four Winds had always been kind to her fairies—even the North Wind, which brought snow and winter. It was like the life force of the wind had vanished, leaving behind nothing but rough, unpredictable gusts of wind with no conscience or pattern. Jack himself used the winds to fly, and they always listened. She wondered if they were still listening to him, or if he was unable to tame the thoughtless storms.

Her heart beat quickly in her chest as she started to pace faster. Fear was tipping the balance, and the delicate balance of nature had been tipped as well. The people were starting to wonder if this would be the beginning of the next Ice Age. It had been nonstop blizzards for days all over the northern world- the weather had gotten considerably worse since Jack and Katherine had left days ago.

North had faith Katherine and Jack would find Santoff Claussen and return, but it had been far too long. They should have been back days ago. The only ones who still had real hope in the two were North and Bunny; Tooth herself couldn't truthfully say that she believed they would make it back. She couldn't keep her mind from imagining Jack and Katherine lost in the middle of Siberia, flightless in the storm, or even worse—locked away in Pitch's cages.

She continued flying about at a hummingbird's pace, pacing across the floor, muttering to herself. North burst into the room, nearly making the nerve-fried fairy fall out of the air.

"Toothy!" North said loudly, looking at her disheveled appearance in alarm. There were multicolored feathers surrounding her, and whether they were falling out due to lost believers or stress, he didn't know.

"North, I'm worried about Katherine and Jack," She said quickly. "Its been too long, they're probably lost, or captured, or frozen-"

"Tooth!" North said again, walking over to her. "I 'ave seen Katherine get out much vorse scrapes zan zis one. She is clever, I know zat zey vill be fine."

Tooth wasn't convinced. "It has been too long. They should be back by now. What if Jack couldn't control the storm, and the winds? What if on the way there he fell, with her? What if they landed in the ocean, what if they're dead? What if they are lost, or if Pitch has them? What if-"

"TOOTH!" North yelled once again. "Zey are fine!" He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her to his side as he walked her out of the room. "Katherine knows how important zis mission of hers is. Zey vill find avay to get to Santoff Claussen and get ze information ve need and return back to ze Pole. Zey are fine. I can feel it—in my belly."

He slapped his large stomach and Tooth let out a small twitter of laughter, her mood lifting slightly, but not her worry. The two Guardians walked through the workshop in a nervous silence, observing all that was being done. It was Christmas very soon, and the Yetis were bustling about as they tried to get everything ready, and at the same time house all the immortals who were staying at the Pole. Just about every single present that had been made was now stored floors below just to make more space for all the guests.

North and Tooth walked past the spacious globe room, where all the minor guardians and legends had been staying the past few days. It was chaotic on every level of the workshop because Christmas was so very close, but with everyone here it just made it so much louder. Every spirit or legend that had answered the call for help weeks ago was now here, except those that were guarding Bunnymund's Warren and the Tooth Palace. There were so many of them, New spirits were showing up at the Pole every so often, not because they were invited, but because they were weak with cold or afraid and didn't know where else to go. Tooth marveled at how some of them even made it here; it was so cold this far North. Bunny had brought some spirits to the Pole that had sought him out for shelter by guiding them through his tunnels, which was much safer. There wasn't much safety that could be given them, though. The wardens were hardly secure. Immortals were stationed at each one to make sure they weren't overrun by Pitch's goons—primarily NightMares and Nightmare Men. The attacks on the wardens were constant and unyielding. The guardians couldn't remember a battle this fierce between themselves and Pitch since the end of the Dark Ages.

The immortals positioned to protect Bunny's sanctuary and the Tooth Palace came back to the Pole to rest if needed. It was so cold—they couldn't keep warm enough during breaks. All of the flowers in the Easter Warren were wilting and the Dye Rivers were frosting over with ice. And Tooth's palace was mostly gold, which just conducted the cold. The enclosed rooms inside her palace were very small, and only about 20 immortals could fit in the one room with a fireplace. North had loaned a few fire pits to Bunny that the yetis usually used during their watches outside the Pole and they were scattered through his warden. Even with the small fires though, the only place you could really sleep was the Pole.

North and Tooth looked over the banister to the organized chaos below. Bedrolls were spread out on the floor everywhere. Immortals didn't need to sleep, but many of them were exhausted from watch duty. Besides, it just felt like the right thing to do. Somehow they knew they would need to be well rested for whatever was about to happen (Even though they had no idea what Pitch's next move was).

There were Yetis serving food in one corner of the balcony—warm soup and bread. In another corner there was first aid, where many rested from nightmare attack wounds. Some of the immortals attacked in the most recent nightmare assault on the North Pole a few hours ago now laid there sleeping. Some were resting due to physical wounds, but most of the wounds inflicted were psychological.

North and Tooth could see from where they stood the looks of grotesque horror on the faces of those that had been attacked, their arms and legs twitching every so often. One spirit who had fallen asleep jerked awake with a gasp and started screaming like a banshee, tears on her face. Sandy flew over her and the others once again, his face full of sadness, and sprinkled some more sand on their heads. The screaming stopped and the spirit slumped back to the floor, but the sound of her shriek echoed through the workshop long after.

Cupid's arm had been badly broken a few days previous in the attack that had taken Nightlight hostage. She was looking rather cross as she watched a yeti bind her arm after he had put healing serum on it for the fifth time (Not that the yeti seemed too thrilled about the job himself). Her arm was nearly healed, thanks to the magic of Ombric, North's close friend. The wizard had given him the bone-mending potion a while back, and it was coming in handy now. There had been a few other spirits that had needed it for snapped ribs and a broken wrist.

North hoped that Ombric's knowledge would get them out of more scrapes than just broken bones, though. If he held the outline of Pitch's plan, and how to stop it, they might actually have a chance. But if Katherine and Jack didn't return soon with that information, North feared that knowledge would never get to them at all.

Normally North would just fly to Santoff Claussen, but he didn't dare ride his sleigh out in this weather. The storm around the North Pole was fiercer than any other storm North had ever encountered. It was the epicenter off all the storms around the world. The possibilities for a crash in this weather were high, and if he did crash the yetis wouldn't have enough time to rebuild the sleigh before Christmas. But if things got desperate enough he figured he would just have to take the chance and fly to Santoff Claussen in the storm. He really wished he had a snow globe.

North was sheepish to admit it, but at the most inopportune of times he was fresh out of Snow Globes. It wasn't quite his fault though, he always kept some locked up in the vault room for emergencies such as this one, but the back-up globes had mysteriously disappeared. Well, not really mysteriously. Jack's name was written all over it. The lock to the chest North kept them in was frozen so stiffly it had cracked, and so there was really no one else left to blame.

There was only one Snow Globe left; it was one North presumed Jack had dropped in his haste to grab them all from the chest (What the boy wanted with those all Snow Globes North would never know). The Snow Globe had cracked so much North wondered if it would even work at all. He didn't really want to try and use it too hastily. He had once tried to use a broken Snow Globe and had ended up in the middle of the Atlantic. He would rather take the chance with the Snow Globe than the sleigh, though.

North was pulled from his thoughts by the shout of an immortal below who had spotted him and Toothaina. His hair was blond and his eyes were green and so, judging by his appearance and harsh attitude, he was obviously a Summer Immortal. North had the firm impression that a certain absent Winter Guardian wouldn't have liked the boy in the slightest.

"Hey!" Hey shouted in a loudmouth kind of way. The multitude of immortals grew quiet and Toothaina and North found themselves the center of attention.

"It's getting colder," He shouted forcefully. "Those lights of yours-" He pointed to the globe ahead, "Are disappearing. Do you expect us to just sit here and do nothing?"

No one moved. All attention was on North and Tooth as they stood waiting for an answer. Tooth trembled nervously, making her way subtly behind North. He stood silently for a moment, choosing his next words very carefully.

"Ve are still avaiting very important information to return to ze Pole," He said in the sturdiest voice he could muster under the tense circumstances. "Once ve 'ave it, ve vill make further… plans. But for now," He looked directly at the boy and his eyes narrowed, "we vill continue to 'old our ground and fight, and stay a team. If you vant to leave, by all means, leave. I am sure zat you vould 'ave a much better chance alone in ze storm."

The Summer Spirit's eyes squinted in defiance up at North, but he made no motion to speak out against him again. He slowly sat back down onto his sleeping mat, his ears flushing red. The hall was filled with an uncomfortable silence, attention still on Tooth and North.

The guardians quickly turned away to escape the slight awkwardness, being uncomfortable as the target for so many analyzing eyes. As they left the banister the silence was broken, but was not the voices of the spirits below that it was broken by.

A loud pounding shook the walls with a slow steady beat. North whirled around and ran back to the banister.

Boom.

Toothaina fluttered beyond the banister into the open air, spinning around, looking for the source. Sandy flew up to meet her, a large question mark over his head. Anxious whispers broke out below, and many of the immortal's faces were creased in worry.

Boom.

"North!" She yelled out to him. Boom. "What is that?"

The pounding was getting louder and louder with each blow. The ground shook beneath their feet, waking sleeping spirits and spilling soup bowls.

"Zey are trying to get in!" North shouted, drawing his twin swords.

Boom!

He broke into a sprint towards the South doors—the main area of attack the past few days. Toothaina followed him, her fairies trailing behind her, each voicing their concern. Sandy beckoned to the immortals below to follow him, then shot off after his friends.

Boom!

North stumbled as the ground quaked beneath him. The electronic lights flickered throughout the whole workshop. A few immortals started to scream. Others began racing up the stairs, clutching their meager weapons and filing in behind the guardians. Yetis dropped their workloads and followed suit.

Boom!

The large, oak doors to the workshop splintered under the force. The trio of guardians stopped yards from them, standing defensively behind the existing line of Yeti guards that were already prepared for a break in.

BOOM!

North threw one of his swords to Toothaina, who caught it easily. She stared at him with wide eyes. "North, I haven't used one of these in years!"

"Vell," He replied, "You're going to 'ave to remember how."

Tooth laughed, spinning the sword around in her hand to test its balance. Her eyes glinted in slight excitement. "I bet I could still out-duel you, even after all these years."

North didn't argue.

BOOM!

The doors shuddered, and many Yetis fell forward to hold them shut. The ground behind the back wall of warriors surrounding the door opened up, and in leaped a snow-covered Bunnymund, a trail of immortals from his warden following behind him. They had probably come for their turn to rest, and had walked in on a break-in.

Bunny looked around at the chaos, pulling out his weapons slowly. "What the-"

BOOM!

Bunnymund flinched at the loud pound, then, realizing the severity of the situation, bounded through the protective lines of spirits to the front, his boomerangs at the ready. He took position next to North, muttering a word of greeting.

"Any sign of them?" North asked Bunny.

The Pooka took his eyes away from the doors and looked at North sadly. "Of Jack and Katherine? No. I still can't use my tunnels to get into Santoff Claussen—the protection enchantment over the village is stronger than I've ever seen it. We can't even get in a word warning to them—I've tried everything. I even searched the forests beyond the boundaries and found nothing, again. The snow is coming down too thick, the tracks all get lost—"

BOOM!

The lights flickered again, sending them into darkness (with the exception of the many torches along the walls). "It looks like I got here at just the right time," Bunny said. The lights came back on.

"We could really use Jack right now," Tooth said. "I hope he's alright."

"It's not Jack I'm worried about," North responded. He was trying his best to hide it, but he was more worried for Katherine's life than he had ever been about anything.

BOOM!

The doors came forward, breaking the wooden barrier spread across the middle of the frame. Sounds from outside came pouring in: The howling wind, Nightmare screams, NightMare nickering. A few black hands reached in, grabbing madly before the Yetis shut them back out. Sandy's eyes narrowed in hate and disgust, and he quickly took out his long gold whips.

"Well, right now it's us you should be worrying about," Bunny replied.

No one responded, but they knew it was true. Even North knew they were in deep trouble. He could feel it in his belly.

BOOM!

The lights died and the doors crashed open with a cascade of sound. Crazed and senseless laughter overtook their ears, as well as the shrieks of Nightmare men. It drained them cold. A flood of black overcame them, extinguishing every torch in the hallway and pushing deeper into the workshop. They had bought all their time for Jack and Katherine, waiting for them to return, but their time was up. They couldn't avoid the fight any longer—it was at their doorstep.

Then the guardians, one guardian short, lead their makeshift army into the first battle of the Nightmare War.


	10. Chapter 10: Home Again, Home Again

~home again, home again~

Katherine dreamed of nothing, which was very, very unusual. The fact her imaginative mind had not created a beautiful scape for her to explore in her unconsciousness made her feel uneasy, and she felt stranded in a sea of nothing without the beautiful visions she was so used to.

In her dream she could see nothing but her hands, which were a deathly white and dusted with blue. She couldn't feel them. She couldn't feel anything. Her body was so numb that she wondered if she had become a ghost. After a while she seemed to finally register some sensation, a feeling that she knew all to well—cold. It had settled deeply and comfortably into her small body, overtaking it completely. She could feel ice inside her bones and shards of it inside her lungs. But there was no pain—nothing but a dull sense of the extreme cold.

She tried to move her frosted fingers. Nothing. She tried to call out. Silence. She couldn't even blink. She could only stare out at the empty brightness and half-feel her body try to cope with the extreme cold.

Katherine's clever mind raced through all the possibilities of why she had found herself in the situation she was in, as she only barely registering she was in a dream. She decided that the most reasonable possibility was that she was somehow encased inside ice. There was no sound, no sent, no feeling. Nothing but light, and the strange sensation that if she were to move under all the pressure she was under she would shatter into thousands of tiny, glass pieces—like a china doll. So she stayed motionless, with nothing to keep her company but the silence, and the cold, and the nothing.

But her mind, although cold and numb, was not silent. Her imagination instinctively took her away from the harsh cold as it had so many other times in years past. She was carried somewhere far away, where the air was warm and the breeze smelled like a bittersweet springtime. There she could feel her hands and her legs brush tall forest grass. She imagined picturesque glades and secret valleys shrouded in surreal morning mists, and forgotten castle halls made of tarnished marble. She imagined stars and constellations, the moon and its beams, and a boy who shined just as brightly as they. And she was happy, withdrawn within her own mind.

It was only when her fingers started to prickle in pain that she was jarred out of her dreamlike musing. All too suddenly she felt warmth encircle her ice-incased body, melting away the silence and the cold and the nothing. The heavy pressure around her that was holding her down melted away, but her body still could not move. Her mind, which had been dulled to her surroundings, thawed. Abruptly and painfully her nerves did the same, and she was thrown from her dreamland and back into her broken body. There, pins and needles stabbed at her toes, her fingers, and her ears. She was on fire. The lack of sensation and feeling that she had felt while frozen was now being made up for with the horrible pain of too much sensation. Everything ached, everything burned. Then the pain was paired with a voice, which, compared to the voice inside her mind screaming, seemed very calm.

"Katherine?" It called softly. "Katherine?"

Slowly the voice got louder and clearer, guiding Katherine's consciousness to it. She followed the sound to a place that was very bright, and she squinted blindly as her eyes focused on two circles directly in front of her. Was it two moons? She couldn't tell.

She took a pained breath in, and found that her skin burned in the movement, like her outer layers had shrunk. There was the sent of something in the air that sparked her mind out of its haze. She took another breath in. It smelled like paper—the old kind of paper that had started to decompose and smell strongly of vanilla. It was her favorite sent. She could also smell pine, and chocolate. There was a faint something that smelled of the sea—but no sea she had ever been to. There was only one person in the world that smelled of such a sea. And there was only one place in the world that smelled so sweetly of books.

The two circles in front of her formed into a pair of reading spectacles, and behind them a very wrinkled, wise looking pair of eyes. They crinkled into a smile.

"Ah, there you are," He said cheerfully. "Good morning. Or should I say, good afternoon."

"Ombric," Katherine said hoarsely. "How? Wait, where—"

He hushed her. "You are home, and that is all that matters at this moment. You made it, and I honestly have no idea how, but you did. Hiking across the Siberian wilderness in the middle of the winter was risky, even for you Katherine. Why, if Jack hadn't—"

"Jack," Katherine said suddenly, her memories returning to her. "Where's Jack?"

"He's fine, Katherine," He said reassuringly, holding her ice-cold hand. "He's still sleeping. I thought it was best he stay outside. I didn't like leaving him out alone in the snow, but I didn't think he would do well in here with the heat. The Bear carried you both in last night. I've never seen a spirit so physically spent, no less a Guardian. He practically worked himself to the point of death to carry you to Santoff Claussen's boundary."

Katherine tried to sit up, but the blood rushed to her head. She laid back down and tried to block the immediate headache. "Is he okay? Is he going to be okay? What—"

Ombric hushed her again, this time more forcefully. "Goodness, Katherine," He said, pushing her back down to the bed. "Jack is fine. He's a winter spirit—he just needs to rest. If he needs anything more I will gladly do whatever I can to heal him. He saved your life—I owe him greatly."

Katherine sat in stunned silence. She hadn't known Jack for long, but he had sacrificed everything he had for her nonetheless. He could have left her to freeze by the side of the river, but he had carried her body to safety. It was no wonder he had been named a Guardian—he was a selfless protector.

"It's been so hard for me to wait for one of you to wake up," Ombric said, mixing a drink on the nightstand beside her. "Waiting for the information you risked your lives to carry here has made me a bit… impatient. Normally I would have given you many more days of rest, Katherine. You were practically dead when you arrived here—it's a miracle you got here when you did. Another hour in the cold and I fear your body would have shut down. I don't know what any of us would have done if you had been lost in the snow. I wish I could get word to the Pole of your safety, but communications are cut. I can only imagine Nightlight's worry."

Katherine's insides felt empty, and she didn't know how to tell the old man Nightlight hadn't the faintest idea she was even outside the Pole. Ombric helped her sit up and put a pillow behind her back. "Have you gotten any word from the Pole at all from the past week or so? Is there anyway we can get word out to them immediately?"

A large cup full of brown liquid was placed in her hands, and she downed it. It was warm, and it tasted like watered down clove and ginger.

"No," Ombric said. "I can't seem to contact them in any way. I can't put down the barriers of the village without risking our safety. This is one of the only places left in the world that is not overrun by Nightmare Men, but I fear our safety is slipping. Little Fog had a nightmare last night. After you and Nightlight left I had to seal us off. What has happened since then?"

Katherine finished off her drink. "Well, I don't know what has happened since we left the Pole. We have been walking for three or four days… or maybe more? I don't remember. When we left the Pole was secure. I snuck away with Jack to fly here, and we crashed in the storms. I knew it was risky, but I need your advice, and the library; North's is so terribly small."

"Why didn't you ride Kailash?" He asked.

"She was injured in a NightMare attack," She said. She distanced herself from her words and said quickly, "We lost Nightlight in the same attack. He's been taken hostage by Pitch."

Ombric's expression hollowed. He looked over to the nightstand and Katherine saw that Nightlight's crystal, which she had carried her whole journey, was laid there.

"I wondered why you had this," He said, picking it up and handing it to her. It sent prisms of light across her bed sheets. "I thought maybe… Never mind," He said horsey, standing up. "We must not dwell on feeling. The Moon Guardian has fallen. I don't want to think what Pitch wants with the boy."

Katherine rubbed her hands together and flexed her toes, trying to work warmth back into them. The drink she had consumed seemed to be filling her veins with warmth and giving her strength. The wolf bite on her hand had been redressed, and it ached significantly less. She looked at her hands in wonder, knowing without Ombric's magic she would have lost feeling in more than just her hands. Her hands should have been black with frostbite, but they were simply red and irritated.

"Your hands weren't quite like that when you came in, you know," Ombric said. "I've never seen a worse case of frostbite. Your fingers and toes were past gone, and your ears and nose were on their way. Nevermind that now, though. What is it that you came here to do?"

"We need to talk about a number of things," She said. "I have some theories about what Pitch's plans are, and North agrees with me on some of them, but I need your advice to confirm them, and help me plan some kind of counter-attack."

"But of course," Ombric replied. "Where should we start?"

"We can start with waking up Jack." She rose to her feet, and Ombric supported her. "He needs to hear what you have to say. It's his friend I have the most concern about."


End file.
